Inside the old main post office, a $600 million 'blank canvas'

Chicago’s prominence in the mail-order catalog industry led to the creation of the world’s largest post office in the city in the 1930s, when the old main post office was completed.

These days, a small army of construction workers is pushing aside the dust of those bygone days — more than 23 tons of debris have been hauled away so far — as part of a more than $600 million plan to convert the art deco behemoth into modern offices, restaurants, shops, entertainment and park space.

In the process, owner 601W Cos. wants to bring the long-vacant post office full circle. As it happens, e-commerce giant Amazon, today’s master of home deliveries, is seeking a home for a 50,000-employee second headquarters.

“The reason this was the largest post office ever built was, because if you look back at the history of the time, the Amazons of their time were catalog distributors: Sears, Roebuck; Montgomery Ward; and Spiegel,” said Brian Whiting, president of Chicago-based Telos Group, which represents 601W in finding tenants for the post office. “Chicago was the center of that not only because those companies developed here, but because of the transportation to distribute virtually everywhere in the United States.”

The Post Office, as it’s called now, fronts the Chicago River and straddles Congress Parkway. With contiguous floors of up to 250,000 square feet, The Post Office will have the largest office floor plates in the city.

With 2.5 million square feet of office space, and the ability to build millions of additional square feet on adjacent land, it is one of just a few Chicago sites that appear capable of meeting Amazon’s long-term need of 8 million square feet. Another key factor cited by Amazon in its H2Q plans: public transportation.

New York-based 601W plans to pursue “HQ2,” and might even consider combining forces with another nearby redevelopment, at Union Station, to land the deal, Whiting said.

The old main post office was used to process mail and catalog fulfillment at a time when Sears, Roebuck & Co.; Montgomery Ward; and Spiegel were the Amazons of their time. It has 6 million square feet to produce more amenities than any other developer. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

The old main post office was used to process mail and catalog fulfillment at a time when Sears, Roebuck & Co.; Montgomery Ward; and Spiegel were the Amazons of their time. It has 6 million square feet to produce more amenities than any other developer. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

“We look at this location and, for different reasons (than in the 1930s), the building comes back into play for what’s happening today,” Whiting said. “A lot of buildings talk about being the gateway to the city. Here, we are literally the gateway to the city. The expressway runs right through us, the (Metra and Amtrak) trains run right under us, and the transportation network that feeds downtown can all be accessed within the area.

“We believe it’s a singularly unique building in America.”

Regardless of where Amazon winds up, the building designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White may finally be ready to deliver after two decades of vacancy. Modernization of the building comes at a time when old, sprawling buildings such as the Merchandise Mart, the former Apparel Center and 600 West Chicago are in high demand among office tenants seeking broad, collaborative spaces.

The developer also plans comforts such as a food hall and a 4-acre rooftop park. 601W is trying to turn one of the building’s biggest challenges — its sheer size — into an advantage.

“Scale can be a daunting task,” Whiting said. “The challenge in such a large building becomes creating an environment that’s at human scale. But scale also brings you lots of resources to create an environment that few buildings have. We can do bigger, better, more diverse amenities than any single company can do within their space.”

Previous developers have mulled a range of ideas for the shuttered post office, including carving out the center to create a park.

While some unrealized plans sought to split the post office into sections to make it less daunting, 601W’s plan, designed by architecture firm Gensler, aims to fully utilize the building’s breadth.

Elevators will be pushed to the edges of floors, rather than near the core. Coupled with 19-foot-high ceilings, the open layout will allow sunlight to flood in, said Sheryl Schulze, Gensler’s developer and landlord services leader.

“In addition to all the wide, sweeping views, we’ve strategically placed the infrastructure to allow natural light to come in and not block views,” Schulze said.

The previous owner, eccentric British multibillionaire Bill Davies, had big dreams after buying the post office in 2009. He unveiled renderings of new skyscrapers surrounding the existing building, which stands nine stories tall in most areas. Davies never made significant progress toward signing tenants or rebuilding the space, and he agreed to sell it last year under pressure from the city.

601W completed the $130 million deal in May 2016, days after Davies’ death.

Unlike Davies, who lived in Monaco and was rarely seen in Chicago, 601W has a track record in Chicago real estate. Although principal Mark Karasick and 601W’s other investors stay out of the spotlight, the firm owns or has owned Chicago office properties including the Aon Center, Prudential Plaza, the Civic Opera Building and the Sullivan Center.

Chicago's old main post office is undergoing a $600 million renovation, turning it into modern offices, restaurants, shops, entertainment and park space.

At the old main post office, 601W inherited broken and boarded-up windows, asbestos, pools of water, cracked marble floors and piles of debris.

The developer has begun replacing 2,200 windows, and already completed a full renovation of the spectacular lobby off Van Buren Street, where light fixtures hang nearly 9 feet down from the 38-foot ceiling. Cracked marble floors were repaired and layers of grime scrubbed from walls and the gold-leaf ceiling.

The lobby restoration is part of the building’s attempt to achieve landmark status, Schulze said. 601W goes before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks on Oct. 5.

“Today the old post office takes a major step towards its future and a brighter future for the city of Chicago,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “After sitting empty and unused for decades, this iconic building is being renovated and revitalized as an economic engine that impacts neighborhoods across the city.”

Another entrance is planned at Harrison Street and the river, leading into 100,000 square feet of retail accessible to the public. A 40,000-square-foot food hall, called Festival Hall, could include as many as 20 stations for local food vendors, Whiting said. Escalators will rise to a second-floor lobby and tenant amenities, including a 24,000-square-foot fitness center and a conference center with an approximately 400-seat auditorium.

601W is starting work on a 100,000-square-foot, furnished office space on the fourth floor that will be used as a showcase for potential tenants, Whiting said.

The 5-acre roof is vast enough to lay four football fields side-by-side. From that, 601W plans to convert 4 acres into a park for tenants.

“It’s a blank canvas,” Whiting said of the building. “The only thing we’re maintaining is the steel, facade and historic nature of the building. We’re effectively a new building within this historic facade.”